Friday, September 16th, 2011

The Days Of Adderall

Review of Deleted Scenes’ Young People’s Church Of The Air

Laura RotondoIt’s too bad that Washington, DC four-piece Deleted Scenes didn’t time their upcoming visit to Toronto better so as to coincide with the Toronto International Film Festival, which wraps up this weekend. And not just for the topicality of their band name, but for the inherently cinematic scope of their sound.

Usually when “cinematic” is dropped as a descriptor, it implies for good or bad that the band aspires to a “big” sound that’s akin to a glitzy Hollywood Summer blockbuster; in the case of Deleted Scenes’ just-released second album Young People’s Church Of The Air, their ambitions are more modest and can perhaps predictably be likened to a contemporary independent film, reliant on a DIY aesthetic, quirky characters and a script that simultaneous seeks to bare its soul and remain obscured.

In musical terms, Deleted Scenes operate underneath sonics that are deliberately fuzzy and occasionally opaque, with Dan Scheuerman’s vocals – an instrument which other bands might seek to showcase front and centre – often pushed back in the mix so as to seem like he’s hollering from the back of the room while all manner of instrumentation cavort in the foreground. It’s an interesting balance and one that can either force the listener to pay closer attention than they normally might or tune out entirely; initial listens tended towards the latter, but persistence paid off with a record that was playfully psychedelic, yet possessed of a clear-eyed deliberateness where it counted. Rewarding stuff.

Deleted Scenes are currently on tour across North America in support of the new record and will be at Rancho Relaxo on September 22.

The Jayhawks’ first new record in forever, Mockingbird Time, is up for stream at Rolling Stone and the best thing you can say about it is it sounds like the classic Jayhawks lineup that made it – and that’s a good thing.

Magnet – who are returning as a print publication in October and will thus be re-earning their italicized title – NOW and The Fly talk to Stephen Malkmus, who leads The Jicks into The Phoenix on September 23. The Portland Tribune talks to Jicks bassist Joanna Bolme.

MusicOmh has words with Merrell Garbus of tUnE-yArDs. She/they are at Lee’s Palace on September 24.